SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Nutritional properties of the largest bamboo fruit Melocanna baccifera and its

ecological significance

Balaji Govindan1, Anil John Johnson1, Sadasivan Nair Ajikumaran Nair1, Bhaskaran

Gopakumar2, Mallampalli Sri Lakshmi Karuna3, Ramaswamy Venkataraman4, Konnath

Chacko Koshy2 & Sabulal Baby1,*

1Phytochemistry and Phytopharmacology Division, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden

and Research Institute, Pacha-Palode, Thiruvananthapuram 695 562 Kerala, India, 2Plant Genetic

Resources Division, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Pacha-

Palode, Thiruvananthapuram 695 562 Kerala, India, 3Centre for Lipid Research, CSIR-Indian

Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad 500 607, India, 4Department of Chemistry, Sri

Paramakalyani College (Manonmaniom Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli), Alwarkurichi 627

412, Tamil Nadu, India

Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.B. (sabulal@jntbgri.res.in;

sabulal@gmail.com)

Melocanna baccifera is a unique bamboo which produces the largest fruits in the grass

family. Its gregarious flowering once in 45-50 years in north east India and adjacent

regions is a botanical enigma, resulting in a glut of fruits. Proper utilization of M. baccifera

fruits is not extant, and huge quantities of fruits are left underexploited due to lack of

scientific information on their chemical composition and nutritional potential. Here we

report the nutritional properties of M. baccifera fruits, and the ecological significance of its

fruiting. This pear-shaped, fleshy bamboo fruit is rich in amino acids (lysine, glutamic

acid), sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose) and phenolics (ferulic acid). Protein content (free,

bound) in M. baccifera fruits is very low. Fruits are rich in saturated fatty acids (palmitic

acid), minerals (potassium), and only B series vitamins (B3) are detected in them. Rat

feeding experiments showed that M. baccifera fruit alone is not a complete food, but with

other protein supplements, it is a valuable food additive. This study could lead to better

utilization of M. baccifera fruits during future flowering/fruiting events. These results could

also help in the successful management of rodent outbreaks and other ecological problems

associated with M. baccifera fruiting.

Details of Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz clumps from which fruit samples were collected

Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz belongs to the family Poaceae (subtribe Melocanninae, tribe Bambuseae, subfamily Bambusoideae)1.

Live collections of Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz in JNTBGRI Bambusetum

JNTBGRI Bambusetum holds 11 Melocanna baccifera clumps2, and samples from five clumps (Accession numbers 58, 359, 365, 394, 403) were collected for the present study.

Location in the Bambusetum, Propagule and Provenance of the five clumps studied

Clump Number 58: JNTBGRI Bambusetum, Coordinates: N 08˚45. 305’ E 077˚ 01. 491’. K. C. Koshy collected the propagule (offset) of this plant from Forest Research Institute (Coordinates: N 30.3421° E 77. 9973°), New Forest, Dehra Dun (altitude above 435 m MSL), Uttarakhand state, India on 5. 9. 1988 and planted in Institute Bambusetum on 20. 9. 1988 (Collection Number K. C. Koshy 4330).

Clump Number 359: JNTBGRI Bambusetum, Coordinates: N 08˚45. 347’ E 077˚01. 527’. K. C. Koshy collected the propagule (offset) of this plant from Tupul (altitude 425 m above MSL), Tamenglong district, Manipur state, India on 18. 3. 1996, and planted in Institute Bambusetum on 22. 3. 1996 (Collection Number K. C. Koshy 28606).

Clump Number 365: JNTBGRI Bambusetum, Coordinates: N 08˚45. 295’ E 077˚01.580’. K. C. Koshy collected the propagule (offset) of this plant from Saikulhills (altitude 1061 m above MSL), Senapati district, Manipur state on 28. 3. 1996 and planted in Institute Bambusetum on 30. 3. 1996 (Collection Number K. C. Koshy 28666).

Clump Number 394: JNTBGRI Bambusetum, Coordinates: N 08˚45.351’ E 077˚01.518’. K. C. Koshy collected the propagule (offset) of this plant from Lukram Lerik, Imphal district, (altitude 790 m above MSL), Manipur state, India on 17. 3. 1996 and planted in Institute Bambusetum on 18. 8. 1996 (Collection Number K. C. Koshy 28607).

Clump Number 403: JNTBGRI Bambusetum, Coordinates: N 08˚45. 295’ E 077˚01. 574’. K. C. Koshy collected the propagule (offset) of this plant from Moreh (altitude 200 m above MSL), Chandel district, Manipur state on 26. 3. 1996 and planted in Institute Bambusetum on 18. 8. 1996 (Collection Number K. C. Koshy 28648).

References

1. Kellogg, E.A. Flowering Plants. Monocots, The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants 13 (Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, 2015).

2. Koshy, K.C. Bamboos at TBGRI (Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, 2010).

Herbarium specimens: India, Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Palode, JNTBGRI Bambusetum, accession number 58: 23.10.2009, B. Gopakumar 66813; 18.5.2011 B. Gopakumar 66895. 359: 13. 7. 2007, B. Gopakumar 47940; 18. 11. 2008, B. Gopakumar 47974. 365: 25. 11. 2009, A. Sebastian 66645. 366: 25. 11. 2009, A. Sebastian 66646. 395: 18. 11. 2009, B. Gopakumar 66636. 403: 2. 11. 2009, A. Sebastian 66621. Sikkim: 22.2.2011, K. C. Koshy 66689.

Spirit collections: India, Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Palode, JNTBGRI Bambusetum, accession number 359: 13. 7.2007, B. Gopakumar 47940; 18. 11. 2008, B. Gopakumar 47974; 22. 4. 2009, B. Gopakumar 48000; B. Gopakumar s.n. 394: 27. 6. 2006, K. C. Koshy 54179.

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Fig. S1. (a-e) Melocanna baccifera fruits. (a-c, photographed by Bhaskaran Gopakumar; d-e, photographed by Konnath Chacko Koshy).